Old Wounds
by Graffiti Kiss
Summary: John and Ronon have a chat about a certain scientist. Spoilers for Tao of Rodney!


Many thanks to my beta reader, Kamelion!

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Lt. Colonel John Sheppard walked into the mess hall, not really feeling hungry, but grabbing a piece of Athosian fruit anyway as he scanned the sparsely populated cafeteria for the familiar dreadlocks of Ronon Dex. Once he found him, John took a bite of the pear-like fruit and walked over to the Satedan's table, sitting down without waiting for an invitation.

Ronon was quietly shoveling mashed potatoes into his mouth as he glanced up at Sheppard before looking back down to his plate. He made no attempt at pleasantries, but continued to eat his lunch and waited for John to say something.

"Can I ask you-"

"They're gone."

John shifted in his chair and cast Ronon a sideways glance before taking a contemplative bite of his fruit. For someone who'd been on the verge of 'chipper' just a few hours earlier, Ronon certainly seemed back to his old brooding self again.

"So, Rodney just…gave you a hug, and they-"

"Yes." Ronon growled, stabbing a piece of meat with his fork and jamming it into his mouth, tearing it off the utensil with exaggerated force.

"Uh huh." John nodded, twirling the core of his fruit between his thumb and forefinger. "So, I'm confused. Are you happy that those scars are gone, or not? 'Cause we've got a few witnesses that saw you give McKay one hell of a bear hug, and then Teyla tells me you really beat the crap out of the old punching dummy in the workout room. Care to explain?"

"No."

Simple as that. Not good enough for Sheppard though. He leaned forward toward Ronon, his features serious as he spoke in a low voice. "Believe me, watching Rodney die was…well, it was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. The fact that he hopped up from that Ancient thing-a-ma-jig as if nothing happened made me want to hug the guy too."

"Good for you," Ronon ground out between clenched teeth. "Do you have a point?"

"I do, actually. McKay is a bit out-of-sorts since he's lost all his powers, and he's a little unsure about how you're going to react around him. So I just want to make sure you'll keep with the urge to hug him, and not so much with any urge to punch him in the face."

Finally, Ronon put down his fork and gave Sheppard his attention, leveling the shorter man with his usual, intense gaze.

"I have no problem with McKay. In fact, I'm grateful for what he did. I carry enough scars within me from the Wraith. Glad I don't have to carry them on the outside anymore."

"But…" John prompted, sensing there was more.

"I try not to think about my scars, but now that they're gone, I can't get them out of my mind." Ronon clenched his fists. "I was angry at everything the Wraith had ever done to me and I just needed to vent. So, I went to the gym."

"Oh," John nodded, feeling a sense of dread lift from him that he hadn't even realized was there. "So…that's a good thing then?"

"It'll be fine. I just have some stuff to work out of my system."

"Good." John smiled, relaxing back into his chair. "Rodney will be happy to hear it."

Ronon nodded and picked up his fork to finish his meal. Before he could scoop up a bite, he set it back down and looked back at Sheppard, a frown creasing his brow.

"McKay's worried I'm mad at him?"

John sensed that this bothered Ronon, and he leaned forward. "Well, kinda. He's just a bit off about everything right now. He's trying to get used to just being a regular genius instead of a super one. He knows you're not mad."

"You didn't."

"I didn't what?"

"Know that I wasn't mad at him."

"Well…I'm just making sure. For Rodney's sake."

"You really think I'd do something to McKay? " Ronon frowned, his jaw clenching.

"Whoa!" John held up his hands in an attempt to stave off the larger man's anger. "I'm not trying to offend you. I'm just-"

"Looking out for a friend."

"Exactly!" John smiled, standing up to toss the remains of his snack in the nearest trash. He turned back to Ronon, who had also stood and was picking up his empty tray. When they were both done, they walked out of the mess hall together.

"So…where are you headed?" John asked nonchalantly.

"Gonna find McKay and mess with him a little."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

Ronon shrugged. "May as well get things back to normal around here. I'm not gonna keep hugging the man every time I see him."

John smirked, a twinkle in his eye as he imagined that scenario. "Mind if I come and watch?"

"Whatever." Ronon shrugged.

The End


End file.
